MySQL :: MySQL 8.0 Reference Manual :: 15.2.16 TABLE Statement (original) (raw)

15.2.16 TABLE Statement

TABLE is a DML statement introduced in MySQL 8.0.19 which returns rows and columns of the named table.

TABLE table_name 
    [ORDER BY column_name] 
    [LIMIT number [OFFSET number]]
    [INTO OUTFILE 'file_name'
        [{FIELDS | COLUMNS}
            [TERMINATED BY 'string']
            [[OPTIONALLY] ENCLOSED BY 'char']
            [ESCAPED BY 'char']
        ]
        [LINES
            [STARTING BY 'string']
            [TERMINATED BY 'string']
        ]
    | INTO DUMPFILE 'file_name'
    | INTO var_name [, var_name] ...]

The TABLE statement in some ways acts likeSELECT. Given the existence of a table named t, the following two statements produce identical output:

TABLE t;

SELECT * FROM t;

You can order and limit the number of rows produced byTABLE using ORDER BY andLIMIT clauses, respectively. These function identically to the same clauses when used withSELECT (including an optionalOFFSET clause with LIMIT), as you can see here:

mysql> TABLE t;
+----+----+
| a  | b  |
+----+----+
|  1 |  2 |
|  6 |  7 |
|  9 |  5 |
| 10 | -4 |
| 11 | -1 |
| 13 |  3 |
| 14 |  6 |
+----+----+
7 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> TABLE t ORDER BY b;
+----+----+
| a  | b  |
+----+----+
| 10 | -4 |
| 11 | -1 |
|  1 |  2 |
| 13 |  3 |
|  9 |  5 |
| 14 |  6 |
|  6 |  7 |
+----+----+
7 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> TABLE t LIMIT 3;
+---+---+
| a | b |
+---+---+
| 1 | 2 |
| 6 | 7 |
| 9 | 5 |
+---+---+
3 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> TABLE t ORDER BY b LIMIT 3;
+----+----+
| a  | b  |
+----+----+
| 10 | -4 |
| 11 | -1 |
|  1 |  2 |
+----+----+
3 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> TABLE t ORDER BY b LIMIT 3 OFFSET 2;
+----+----+
| a  | b  |
+----+----+
|  1 |  2 |
| 13 |  3 |
|  9 |  5 |
+----+----+
3 rows in set (0.00 sec)

TABLE differs from SELECT in two key respects:

• TABLE always displays all columns of the table.
  Exception: The output ofTABLE does not include invisible columns. See Section 15.1.20.10, “Invisible Columns”.
• TABLE does not allow for any arbitrary filtering of rows; that is, TABLE does not support any WHERE clause.

For limiting which table columns are returned, filtering rows beyond what can be accomplished using ORDER BY and LIMIT, or both, useSELECT.

TABLE can be used with temporary tables.

TABLE can also be used in place ofSELECT in a number of other constructs, including those listed here:

• With set operators such asUNION, as shown here:

mysql> TABLE t1;  
+---+----+  
| a | b  |  
+---+----+  
| 2 | 10 |  
| 5 |  3 |  
| 7 |  8 |  
+---+----+  
3 rows in set (0.00 sec)  
mysql> TABLE t2;  
+---+---+  
| a | b |  
+---+---+  
| 1 | 2 |  
| 3 | 4 |  
| 6 | 7 |  
+---+---+  
3 rows in set (0.00 sec)  
mysql> TABLE t1 UNION TABLE t2;  
+---+----+  
| a | b  |  
+---+----+  
| 2 | 10 |  
| 5 |  3 |  
| 7 |  8 |  
| 1 |  2 |  
| 3 |  4 |  
| 6 |  7 |  
+---+----+  
6 rows in set (0.00 sec)  

The UNION just shown is equivalent to the following statement:

mysql> SELECT * FROM t1 UNION SELECT * FROM t2;  
+---+----+  
| a | b  |  
+---+----+  
| 2 | 10 |  
| 5 |  3 |  
| 7 |  8 |  
| 1 |  2 |  
| 3 |  4 |  
| 6 |  7 |  
+---+----+  
6 rows in set (0.00 sec)  

TABLE can also be used together in set operations with SELECT statements,VALUES statements, or both. SeeSection 15.2.18, “UNION Clause”, Section 15.2.4, “EXCEPT Clause”, andSection 15.2.8, “INTERSECT Clause”, for more information and examples. See also Section 15.2.14, “Set Operations with UNION, INTERSECT, and EXCEPT”.

• With INTO to populate user variables, and with INTO OUTFILE or INTO DUMPFILE to write table data to a file. SeeSection 15.2.13.1, “SELECT ... INTO Statement”, for more specific information and examples.
• In many cases where you can employ subqueries. Given any tablet1 with a column nameda, and a second table t2 having a single column, statements such as the following are possible:

SELECT * FROM t1 WHERE a IN (TABLE t2);  

Assuming that the single column of table t1 is named x, the preceding is equivalent to each of the statements shown here (and produces exactly the same result in either case):

SELECT * FROM t1 WHERE a IN (SELECT x FROM t2);  
SELECT * FROM t1 WHERE a IN (SELECT * FROM t2);  

See Section 15.2.15, “Subqueries”, for more information.

• With INSERT andREPLACE statements, where you would otherwise useSELECT *. See Section 15.2.7.1, “INSERT ... SELECT Statement”, for more information and examples.
• TABLE can also be used in many cases in place of the SELECT inCREATE TABLE ... SELECT orCREATE VIEW ... SELECT. See the descriptions of these statements for more information and examples.